IPL 2019: Yuvraj Singh rings warning bells for Mumbai Indians\' opponents - Watch

IPL 2019: Yuvraj Singh rings warning bells for Mumbai Indians’ opponents - Watch

Franchise owner Akash Ambani called Yuvraj Singh’s purchase their biggest steal in the tournament’s 11-year-old history.

cricket Updated: Dec 19, 2018 17:00 IST
File image of Yuvraj Singh.(BCCI)

He might have been picked in the accelerated part of the Indian Premier League auction in Jaipur on Tuesday, but Yuvraj Singh is really kicked about joining Mumbai Indians for the upcoming season of the cash-rich league. With the fans requesting MI to bid for the all-rounder, team owner Akash Ambani finally picked him for Rs1 crore and the Man of the Series from the 2011 World Cup said that the fun is just about to begin.

Franchise owner Akash Ambai called it their biggest steal in the tournament’s 11-year-old history. Mumbai Indians also brought back Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who served the team for long, at his base price of Rs 2 crore.

“To be honest, we had budgeted a lot more for Yuvraj and Malinga. At Rs one crore, a player like Yuvraj is probably a (biggest) steal of 12 (sic) years. He has won every trophy there is to be won,” Ambani told the host broadcaster of the auction.

“We focussed on experience a lot as well on the youngsters. We have identified specific roles for both of them (Yuvraj and Malinga).”

Yuvraj initially went unsold in the auction and it was only after he re-entered the players’ pool, Mumbai Indians bought him. Both Yuvraj and Malinga are past their time and it remains to be seen how Mumbai utilise their services in the 2019 edition.

In 2015, Yuvraj fetched a record Rs16 crore deal with the Delhi franchise since then his IPL fortunes have fallen rapidly. He was picked up by KXIP at his base of price of Rs 2 crore earlier this year before the team released him following a lean 2018 IPL.

While Chris Gayle repaid the faith KXIP posed in him with a fruitful season, Yuvraj could not set the house on fire, managing just 65 runs in eight games. The 37-year-old, who last played for India in June 2017, had put himself in the Rs 1 crore base price bracket this time alongside other capped Indians — Wriddhiman Saha, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel.

In fact, no Indian figured in the highest base price of Rs2 crore among the players who went under the hammer.

First Published: Dec 19, 2018 14:23 IST